Climate Change
The world is heating up at a rapid rate
Average temperatures on Earth have warmed by about 0.76 of a degree Celsius over the past 200 years. Average Australian temperatures have risen by around 0.9 degrees Celsius since 1950.
This temperature rise appears small but small increases in temperature translate into big changes for the world's climate.
The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) attributes most of this temperature rise to human activities that release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Stay under a global average temperature increase of 2 degrees Celsius
Hotter days, more severe storms, droughts and fire, and higher sea levels are expected under climate change. This could threaten lives, industries and jobs, sustainable agricultural production, fresh water supplies and the survival of native species and ecosystems.
Scientists and some governments agree that an average global warming of 2 degrees or more above the pre-industrial level would result in dangerous and irreversible climate change with dramatic social, economic and environmental impacts.
Australians are big polluters
Australians are the highest per-capita greenhouse gas polluters in the developed world. This is due to the fact that we generate electricity largely by burning high-emission coal and we use energy inefficiently.
Australia's total emissions are similar in magnitude to those of the United Kingdom and France, yet those countries have much larger populations.
How will we stay under a 2 degrees Celsius warming?
WWF-Australia believes that in order to stay below a 2 degree Celsius temperature rise, the Australian Government must implement a national plan to reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. This plan must:
- Stabilise emissions by 2010, and then reduce emissions by at least 25% by 2020;
- Implement world’s best practice for energy efficiency and vehicle emission standards;
- Implement an emissions trading scheme that is complemented by an effective renewable energy target and energy efficiency measures, operational by 2010;
- Ensure no new coal-fired power stations are built unless they are carbon capture and storage-ready;
- Ensure two to three carbon capture and storage demonstration projects are operational by 2012; and
- Commit to fostering an effective international agreement in Copenhagen in 2009 that maximises the chances of avoiding dangerous climate change.
Recent Climate Change News
WWF submission to Australia's Future Tax System Review
This submission proposes that wasteful consumption and environmental degradation be addressed by the introduction of an environmentally weighted goods and services tax with the whole of the net amount raised being used to restore and protect Australia’s biodiversity, water resources, vegetation and soils, and to develop and promote new sustainable agricultural systems.
Continue reading 'WWF submission to Australia's Future Tax System Review'
G8 fails on climate goals. Again.
The latest WWF-Allianz G8 Climate Scorecards shows that countries have so far failed to take sufficient action to protect the world against climate change.
Renewable energy wave rolls across Australia
Australia should look to the oceans to provide clean, baseload renewable energy as well as thousands of jobs, according to a report released today by WWF-Australia.
Geothermal energy to power jobs boom
Over 17,000 Australians could be employed in the geothermal energy industry by 2050, according to a report released today by WWF and the Australian Geothermal Energy Association (AGEA).
More: Feature articles | Latest media releases | RSS feeds
